office seating modern – DesignApplause

we list our best of neocon 2014.

Jun 19, 2014

above> vessel | todd bracher | 3M architectural markets

It’s very difficult to catch everything in this show whether in person or online. Our focus on 2014 new offerings surely limited discovery. What we did find in this year’s show provides a myriad of options for everyone’s needs as seen on our list below. We highlight several unique, innovative solutions.

[ vessel ] Designer Todd Bracher and 3M Architectural Markets engineering produce a solid quartz body that precisely controls light distribution from a single LED. Vessel comes in three lengths, six color options and two color temperatures.

zinta | lievore altherr molina | arper

[ zinta ] A bench makes it to prime time. Thanks to the exceptionally harmonious blend of wooden seat shell with softly rounded edges with partial upholstery on a light-looking frame, the bench is elegant and leisurely in appearance. It can serve as simple, single sofa or large-scale organizing principle in an open space. With a range of cushion options with diverse materials and fillings, it can serve a range of environments from residential to restaurant, lounge to office with equal ease.

avant collection | mark hiron | élan decca / photo courtesy decca

[ avant ] Designer Mark Hirons Avant’s concept of openness include the Lounge Chair, a simple, tailored Sofa and ultimately, to the inviting expanse of a 145-degree Sofa angled to support face-to-face conversation. Defined by a striking angularity, the pieces appear to expand and fan out. Avant seating is available fully upholstered or with wood veneer back that accentuates its crisp profile and sculptural presence.

lakendo | angelo pinaffo | diemmebi / photo courtesy diemmbi

[ lakendo ] LaKendo, designed by Angelo Pinaffo, is a family of chairs available with tip-up or fixed seat. Its multifunctional uses enable several easy configurations: with polypropylene, padded and upholstered seat and back or back in mesh. The metal frame has a peculiar section’s profile which makes the seat more resistant and supports others specific features such as a set for arms, tip-up seat, wheels and supports sled and bench versions. Among the accessories is available the tablet for both arms.

social chair | yves behar | herman miller / photo courtesy hm

[ social chair ] The Social Chair is the core component of the Public system, bringing new ergonomics, functionality and durability to soft seating while accommodating a range of people and postures. Public is the first office system to support casual work and provide comfort, at the desk, in circulation space, and in group areas—all within a consistent design vocabulary. Designed by Yves Behar and fuseproject.

ballo | don chadwick | humanscale

[ ballo ] Created by Don Chadwick, designer of the Aeron Chair, Ballo is a multipurpose stool that encourages users to engage in short-term, active sitting. The identical air-filled domes serve as the base and seat and pressure can be varied just like a Swiss exercise ball. Ballo helps to reduce the risks associated with sedentary behavior and improve metabolism, calorie burn and core strength. There’s also an adjustable height option.

lo and syz | eoos | keilhauer

[ lo and syz ] the syz table is one continuous table structure with a seamless flow between the cast legs and aluminum extrusions It comes in heights of 29 and 26 inches as well as a very cool and casual 15 inches. Lo is a charming seat cushion. Research has shown that sitting with the hips above the knees restores gravitational equilibrium and provides longer comfort.

berlage | richard hutten | ki

[ berlage ] The Berlage Chair was originally designed in 2004 by Richard Hutten tributing H.P. Berlage, the architect who designed the Municipal Museum of Modern Art in The Hague for the museum’s restaurant. KI reintroduces Berlage in 2014 via their Blu Sky Collection, an initiative of finding intuitive products with unique stories. The strung seat, which is done by hand means each chair by all accounts is unique.

bounce by knoll | knoll

[ bounce by knoll ] In an effort to reduce a level of uncertainty with planning an office space Knoll debuted software developed in partnership with Estimote, a tech start-up building a digital platform to bring content and context to people’s current location. Bounce by Knoll monitors, measures and analyzes space utilization and the work patterns of the office, and offers a digital user engagement platform. Using the Estimote iBeacon platform, Knoll planted seven iBeacons in their showroom that would give attendees a chance to look at occupancy levels at different stations.

antenna round big table | antenna | knoll

[ antenna round big table ] Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger of Antenna create a clever adaptation of their adjustable height Telescope Desk platform. We’d also like to see a Ballo-like chair pair up with it.

grip | randers + radius / troels grum-schwensen | nienkämper / photo courtesy nienkämper

[ grip ] GRIP is a universal table suitable for all purposes. A new design inspired by tightrope walkers, the top balances on a narrow beam supported by cast aluminum legs. Grip™ gets more stable the more weighted it becomes. Bases are die cast aluminum and are available in one size. Finish offered in glass bead blasted (textured) and a selection of powder coat finishes in black, white, red and silver. A variety of top shapes and sizes are offered in all standard Nienkämper veneers and plastic laminates, as well as black linoleum.

quiet spaces by susan cain | steelcase / photo courtesy steelcase

[ susan cain quiet spaces ] Susan Cain Quiet Spaces by Steelcase offer five diverse ways to empower introverts at work. Each space supports specific postures, work modes, and expectations for quiet and privacy supported by a carefully chosen range of architecture, furniture, materials and technology. Every quiet space is designed with V.I.A. which provides superior acoustic performance and offers an atmosphere where introverts can work their best.

lite wall | jeffrey bernett and nicholas dodziuk | teknion / photo courtesy teknion

[ lite wall ] Lite Wall is a series of lightweight screens that respond to varying needs of the open office. Using magnets, Lite Wall easily reconfigures without tools or any visible connections. Varying screen heights accommodate standing, sitting, lounge and other critical datum lines in the system/office landscape. Designed by Jeffrey Bernett and Nicholas Dodziuk.

millions of colors | grethe sørensen | wolf-gordon / photo courtesy wolf-gordon

[ millions of colors ] Earlier in the year for Wolf-Gordon, Danish textile designer and artist Grethe Sørensen introduced a ground-breaking technique of translating pixels to threads. Cooper-Hewitt plans to acquire her work once its new building opens in late 2014.

[ 1968 > 2013 ]
Who’s watching ‘the sixties’ on CNN? Here’s a little ‘office’ perspective… HM’s Public Office Landscape – 45 years – light years away from HM’s Action Office, the original systems furniture designed in 1968 by Robert Propst that started the modern open plan revolution, etc., etc.

public | yves behar – fuseproject | herman miller 2013 / image courtesy hm

action | robert propst | herman miller 1968 / image courtesy hm

note: (*) we also interviewed 12 designers so stay tuned for more details on these and other great objects. [ best of neocon 2014 winners ]

An interview with mike & maaike about windowseat. Neocon 2013.

Sep 24, 2013

San Francisco designers Mike & Maaike have designed Windowseat utilizing an interesting juxtaposition of furniture and architectural elements. The chair is being introduce at Neocon 2013 by Haworth.
[DesignApplause] Mike and Maaike, what brings you here?
[Mike Simonian] We’re debuting the Windowseat chair we’ve been collaborating with Hayworth for the past two years. It’s a lounge chair designed to provide an escape from the open office environment and give you a bit of personal space and break from the noise and hustle and bustle of a busy office, lobby or airport.

[DA] The ‘escape’ and concept is trending now and maybe you are the trendsetters. Did Haworth seek you out with this concept?
[Mike] The original concept was actually many years ago that we developed independently. About 2007. It was at that time more of an experiment. Not really intended for production. I think maybe it was ahead of the acceptability level at the time. Now, technology has changed and people are working a lot more on hand-held devices than ever expected. Now these furniture pieces are a core part of work. Anyway, we presented it to Haworth and they decided they wanted to include it in their line. Haworth is very excited about solutions of this type and they thought it would be a great fit.
[Maaike Evers] It’s a combination of that liberation of not having to be at a desk anymore. But also, the fact that this new generation of young people are going to come in the workplace. The workplace is going to be more dense and open and collaborative so that movement requires the counter balance to happen at the same time. Where are people going to have time to reflect or think?

[DA] 2007! You’re the genesis of what’s going on right now. If you’re a thinker and you wish to get away, the Windowseat lyrically opens a window. Have you seen the Massaud chair he’s done for Coalesse? He would love your chair.
[Mike] Yes, we’ve seen each others chairs. That chair is really interesting because it creates a complete cocoon in a way so you’re completely in a private space. The Windowseat is more about controlling your perspective yet still connected to the outside.

[DA] I sat ‘in’ Windowseat Thursday night and it’s an interesting experience, much more of an enclosure sitting in it than I expected. I liked the way swivel seat centers itself when you get up, ready for the next person.
[Mike] We wanted to create this room within a room. To make furniture do what normally architecture would have to do, providing the wall and the ceiling. In this case, furniture can do that as well. By letting it do some of that work, you’re able to deploy this private space anywhere in an your environment. We wanted to cut away at the enclosure as much as we could so it doesn’t feel like you’re hiding. We cut most of the back off so it’s open all the way down.

[DA] What’s the fabric? It looks and feels like felt.
[Maaike] It is a wool felt, but it’s a woven wool felt called Divina. This is the fabric we really like on this piece because it acoustically absorbs sound even more. From a sound perspective, it somehow creates a private bubble.

[DA] It’s interesting how this chair plays a space trick with your mind. It also plays acoustic tricks with the material and wrap-around but also presents a lot of air space.
[Mike] Yes, no one can sneak up behind you. Yes. When you’re sitting here, you notice you’re in enclosed space, but you don’t pick up on the fact that the space is not really there. People acknowledge that a person is there and that they want some privacy.
[Maaike] Yes. When we started thinking about this concept, we talked about playing in boxes as kids. The experience was both fun and good to have your own little vista with the flaps and doors you would use. Our concept started very rectilinear but we massaged it to be comfortably looking.

[DA] Did you present a prototype?
[Mike] Yes. It’s pretty innovative from the manufacturing and materials perspective and we worked very hard with them to achieve a good price point.

[DA] How did you model your concept?
[Maaike] We built the concepts all in 3D CAD to perform what we were after in ergonomic terms in order to understand the size of space. Pretty quickly we created cross section prints and hot gluing laser-cut cardboard to create a structure to see how it felt to sit in it.

[DA] The chair is visually interesting because of the angle of the enclosure. It looks like it’s just balancing on its legs.
[Mike] Part of the reason for the angle is that it’s inviting. And functional as you don’t bump your head when you’re sitting down or getting up.

[DA] Is this your first piece of furniture? Wait, you did a very nice table, Divis?
[Mike] Divis, yes. Though furniture is not our core business, we really enjoy exploring that space. We worked with Watson Furniture in Washington as well as Council in San Francisco. Chairs, room dividers. It’s nice to jump around.
[Maaike] Actually when we started working together, we came from the tech industry in the Bay area, we deliberately decided to break from tech and explore furniture and jewelry. It was a way of working where each space plays off the other. The range of materials and manufacturing is a source of inspiration and keeps our work fresh.

[DA] What drives your process?
[Mike] The CAD is part of the execution but everything starts with a concept for us. It’s usually an abstract concept or question. In this case, the concept was furniture and architecture: where can they blend? Where does one stop and begin?
[Maaike] That’s what happens when you’re a couple and you work together. You have to agree before you start working with each other. It usually has a very strong concept or else we don’t pick up the project.

[DA] How long have you been working together?
[Mike] 18 years. Almost our whole career.

[DA] That’s a wonderful story. In the design world, what’s really hot right now?
[Maaike] I am stunned to see how much soft more texture is coming into the workplace and how that makes for much more casual work environments. Much more inviting. More sense of color, texture. It’s fantastic.
[Mike] Along that line, these pieces by Patricia (Uriquiola) are amazing and to see that in a space that is normally filled with hard office furniture is really showing the office’s evolution.

[ mike&maaike ] [ haworth ]

Interview with designer jean-marie massaud. Neocon 2013.

Sep 16, 2013

[DesignApplause] Jean-Marie, tell us a little bit about the project you’re working on for Coalesse.
[Jean-Marie Massaud] We are working with Coalesse on a liberal amount of products. which are not just products. Today, companies realize that work is being rephrased, today it’s about work and life. You see, the space and timeframe for working has changed, and Coalesse is trying to provide solutions that’s linked with this new way of living and working.

Some of us either have to work or if lucky, choose to work. My life today is to work on vacation and it took 15-years to accomplish this. I have been working this way for two years. I live near Saint Paul De Vence, in the city of La Colle-Sur-Loup. Part of my team is in Paris, part of my team is in Brittany.

[DA] How big is your team?
[JM] We have 15 people, not so much, but involved in big projects in architecture and the car industry. And these are few projects, not so many. I live alone with my family and I don’t have any people that are working with me in La Colle-Sur-Loup. And I work with my graphic tablet, receiving and sending drawings. I’m linked everyday, but I live on vacation.

I’ve proposed that my team also work on vacation. A lot of them want to stay in Paris, in Brittany. And they are not students, which was another kind of life scenario. They are efficient professionals, not obliged to be a prisoner of an office tower at work.

And so we tried to develop with Coalesse this idea, because it’s natural for them. It’s can be said, it’s a philosophy in which they believe. And when they came to visit me, I told them my dream is to be able to work and also be able to enjoy simple dalliances. So after I drop off my kids to school, I have a coffee. I’m looking at the sea, looking at the mountains. There is the snow.

During the coffee, I discuss with the waiter – he knows me – “Voila! What are you doing?” “I don’t know.” And: chat, chat, chat, chat. After half an hour, it’s done. And then I have to communicate. So I come back to the Wacom tablet, usually, to sketch. Or, when I have a very good connection with the iPad a video conference is possible.

And once I send the sketch to my office I’m free! And because I’m free I might do some sailing. And in this space my brain, packed full of many things suffers little constraint but just thinking about what’s next. I am always writing notes. While lying on the bed when I’m at the hotel or after I go do a run like I did this morning, I write more notes. And the work of the day is done.

[DA] So you write many many notes. You draw with a tablet, you have an Ipad, do you write digital notes or on paper?
[JM] I have – what do you say – a love for notes? My office manager tells that I have too many papers. My system works for me though I’m still waiting for an iPad with a graphic sensitivity.

[DA] There are applications and pressure sensitive styluses for the iPAd.
[JM] Not quite, yet. What I would love, let’s say, during a video conference, sketches could be sent, corrections made on the tablet and then sent back. It would eliminate the need to refine the sketch on paper and scan it. I could correct the exact curve, or exact section… I had this same conversation with Jonathan Ives three years ago. There’s a market. My freedom is linked to this product!

[DA] You want to do everything while on that boat!
[JM] That would be fantastic!

[DA] Tell us what your doing with Coalesse.
[JM] Our first attempt was to put the task into perspective. Coalesse creates classic furniture that’s relevant for the work space or home. I told them the best lounge chair in thw world is the Eames chair from Herman Miller. There’s no other product so smart and competent. If we are to do something – another one great one – maybe it’s not about the architecture, maybe it’s about the integration of your way of living, the sensitivity of the finishes. And so the final customer or the architect specifying the project, makes this product their own because of the link to life, to work. All of this made possible, not with a high-tech solution but with a lounge chair with an ottoman.

The chair is kind of an evolution. It now has a movable work surface in which to place an iPad, to…

[DA] Take notes. Jean-Marie, this chair is designed for you!
[JM] Yes yes, quite possibly. There’s a light in the canopy. A hands-free clip-on device holder. We can video conference in this lounge. A further evolution is maybe the need of intimacy, because if I am in a hotel, a creative agency, there is need for quiet space with little visual disturbances so we pull over the canopy.

If we reconsider the space of walking in an office or a dorm, the space has to be thoughtless. It only has to look like your private place, because more and more people want to feel- how do you say- to feel love more than efficiency. (laughing) So we developed these kinds of ideas.

And the ottoman is more than that (removing the cushion), it is storage space.

And the hood is very light. And there’s no need for electrical wire because of bluetooth, a wi-fi area. The beauty of the hood is how minimal and simple, a really elegant small space.

[DA] The acoustics under the hood is really good. Very little outside noise and we are in a very noisy showroom. You know it looks very twenty-second century.
[JM] Yes, but at the same time, the space is neither the mechanical expression where you feel it’s an office, and yet it’s the office of the familiar, something very natural.

[DA] Jean-Marie, what did you learn from this project?
[JM] Many things, but of interest to me, firstly, I learned to work with American companies. Yes. Working with Coalesse and the collection involving many pieces and several design destinations. No offense here but my experience working with European and an American company, the cultural differences became apparent first hand.

First of all, for me with this experience there were many more people involved on this project. In general, European meetings tend to be smaller, maybe two or three. But this collection, at times maybe 15 people in a meeting and I learned to be more clear in the detail of the message I have to give, because we are doing a lot of meetings. And everybody is very good at method, a very strong method in order to be sure that everybody (15 brains with their own culture and knowledge) shares the same content.

And it was interesting how to fertilize ideas together, with different cultures with the same vision, the same stakes. The vision was simplicity, to create some evolution, and not for the day after tomorrow. To be elegant, but in a sensitive way, not just to be efficient or just to be smart. Just to be elegant. And a merger of all things in today’s world, the work, the play, a way of living. Very cool and I love this feeling of being cool. Really.

[DA] Tell us a little about your philosophy, how materials seem to drive your solutions. The Toyota Me.We is a good example. Do the materials come into play with a project like this?

[JM] Material is just one part of the puzzle we need to accomplish a vision or project. Design adds value in this respect because design is about creative synthesis, and there are a lot of stakes we wish to unite. There is of course, the quality of the service we want to provide. There is usually an economical scenario we need to factor in. So we have to do things which are smart, we can share and to create value.

There is, the technical means and the technical states about lightness, about doing better with less, about the world’s soul which speaks to sustainability. So materials are super important.

For example, the hood on the lounge is made of synthetic felt. It’s made of reclaimed materials, and we see it mostly in a car, the ceiling, the doors. Actually the construction of the canopy, is very much like the ceiling of a car. The synthetic felt is easy to work with and do not forget, our brain is programmed to associate felt with acoustics, noise dampening. The cover on the lounge not only has good acoustics but it persuades your brain too. When you see it, you’ll understand. It will be quiet inside.

[DA] Tell us about the Massaud Collection.
[JM] I think the chairs are quite unique. And there are so many office chairs! For me it wasn’t a question of good taste or bad taste, I wanted to provide some sort of affordable solution of – a chair being a chair. The solution has to be elegant, but it’s about doing business. It’s using the same shell, the same little wire frame for all options.

And we do a lot of things with this principle. The collection doesn’t look plug-n-play, but it is. It’s a flexible collection which gives you, the person, many options to choose your condition, choose your identity. And these options both mix and match, there are low solutions and high solutions. The same with the armrest. And far from the very technical office chair.

The low chair is very low and the armrest disappears to make it more – could be like the shoulder bag for a girl. This chair for the female, it’s my favorite.

[DA] Yes, I like the armrest. Very stylish. Very efficient.
[JM] Efficient but not too arrogant.

[DA] Can you tell us a little about the Toyota Me.We concept car?
[JM] For me, this is an urban car concept which implies what you might expect. First, your eyes tell you it’s not about arrogance or sharpness of the shape- it’s friendly. It’s for the guy walking the street and seeing the car, it catches his eye. It’s for the user who isn’t scared anymore about the scratch or the maintenance of the scalp. Your eyes tell you don’t worry.

[DA] So the anti-crisis car.
[JM] Yes! There are dozens of materials or processes that are smart and we have to choose. The car appeals to many because we have many options to choose from. It has an aluminum frame and renewable bamboo floor and also recylable polypropylene panels with not only color options but texture options. After enough scratches and maybe dents simple replace a panel. The material here was a big part of this vision. You have to crystallize this vision in matter. Material is very important.

1/2> lounge with hood
3/4/5> lounge
6> height adjustable, swivel tablet | cord pass through at base for charging devices
7> ottoman storage
8> low-back executive
9/10> mid-back executive
11/12> high-back executive

Jean-Marie Massaud is a French architect, inventor and designer. He was born in Toulouse, France in 1966. Massuad graduated from the École Nationale Supérieur de Création Industrielle – Les Ateliers, Paris in 1990 and began working with Marc Berthier. In 2000, he co-founded the Studio Massaud with Daniel Pouzet and expanded his interests in the fields of architecture. [ massaud ] [ coalesse ]